I offer this review of the news because I constantly look at the news and wonder...where is God in this? How do we respond to the sorrows and the joys as the Body of Christ? What is our responsibility in all of this?
In the Gospel of Matthew for Sunday (18:15-20), Jesus is instructing his friends on how to resolve conflict. And while we could examine the steps that Jesus gives about how to make appropriate confrontations, I think that it is equally valuable to look at the importance of forgiveness and reconciliation as the Body of Christ.
When Jesus gives these instructions, he’s preparing his friends and followers for how to be a community. The followers of Jesus had already formed a community as Jewish men and women under Roman occupation, but Jesus was instructing them about a new way of being in community, and at the root of this community is agape--love. This love is one which is manifested in forgiveness, healing and reconciliation. It is from this perspective that Jesus gives these instructions about confronting conflict...it isn’t about blame or shame, but about healing and reconciliation. And that this way of encountering one another is to be the model for others.
When was the last time you and your spouse, or child, or neighbor had a conflict? How well did that work out for you? Was it grounded in love and forgiveness or was it about blaming someone else? Was Jesus present in this conflict? When you or the other person offered an apology, was there true reconciliation, or was it a pro-forma “I’m sorry”? There’s nothing inherently wrong with conflict...it often brings to light a wrong, an injury, a hurt that desperately needs healing. Healthy conflict can bring about important change.
But how do we address conflict? For Jesus, it was important for his followers to understand that each member of the community was valuable, and that whenever they’d gather, he was in the midst of them. As Paul explained in his letter to the Romans, love of God and neighbor is the foundation of community. Love is incarnate in acts of justice and right relation. So when faced with conflict, no one should be made to feel more or less important than the other. Conflict should be resolved in a way that brings about healing and reconciliation in the form of equality, an end to domination or oppression, and a genuine concern for the Body of Christ.
We have great historical examples of conflict that has begun to lead us to healing and reconciliation. While racial justice is still an issue in our country, the Civil Rights Movement paved the way for oppression to be overcome. While gender equality still has some challenges, the Women’s Movement has brought to the attention of everyone the need for equitable pay and opportunity, access to appropriate health care coverage and protection from domestic abuse and violence. The Gay Rights Movement has helped us to address issues of marriage equality and health care for partners in committee relationships, as well as an end to discriminatory hiring practices. All of these movements have begun to help us heal the rifts that separate us, and all of these movements have been for the reconciliation of the full Body of Christ.
Personally, I’m not very good at conflict. It’s just easier for me to be mad or sad, to hold the stress and the shame in my body, and move on. My mantra when reflecting on interpersonal conflict is often “there are bigger things to be upset about”. And there’s truth in that for sure. But it’s also not healthy or helpful for me (or the other person that’s involved in my conflict) to hold on to these feelings. So in many ways, I’m preaching to myself today. But then I read a reflection on Sunday’s gospel that really helped me to be more honest about the role of conflict and reconciliation in my life, and in our community. Charles Hambrick Stowe wrote “when we injure one another, we injure the Body of Christ”. Wow! Just wow! When you put it that way, I don’t want to be a participant in injuring of others, and I also don’t want to be injured. What if we take seriously this idea of injuring the Body of Christ when we exploit, violate, oppress or dominate others? If we as the church--part of the Body of Christ--can’t practice forgiveness and healing, if we can’t abide in love, then how can we possibly model for others this kind of reconciliation? All the more reason to practice true healing and reconciliation.
This Sunday as we offer the Prayers of the People, as we offer our confession, and then pass the peace with one another, I invite you to reflect on how Jesus is in the midst of us, showing us the way to true reconciliation, and modeling a love that does no wrong.